Nurses' registration checks needed

Family doctors have been urged to check the registration of nurses working within their practices.

It comes as the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revealed that over the past 12 months, there had been 56 cases of nurses working at GP practices while their registration had lapsed.

The initiative has been launched by the NMC, working with the BMA and the RCGP, and warns doctors they have a responsibility to ensure the nurses they employ are registered with the NMC as well as the nurses also ensuring their registration is up to date to enable them to practice legally in the UK.

NMC interim chair Professor Judith Ellis said: “As the regulator for the UK’s 670,000 nurses and midwives, it is the NMC’s duty to ensure the health and wellbeing of patients and the public. Nurses and midwives cannot legally practise in the UK unless they are registered with the NMC. A nurse practising without registration puts themselves and their patients at risk.”

Dr Clare Gerada, RCGP chair, said that while practice nurses play an invaluable role in the primary care team, practices must ensure that anyone appointed to a nursing post holds the necessary qualifications and effective registration with the NMC before starting employment.

The aim of the initiative is to raise awareness about GPs’ responsibility as employers to regularly check the registration status and qualifications of nurses on an annual basis. Those that do not check risk facing contract sanctions while nurses practising when not registered could be prosecuted.